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Unauthorized Practice
Under Ontario law, no person other than a Registered Member of the
College of Opticians of Ontario or the College of Optometrists of Ontario or the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario are authorized to fit and dispense
eye glasses, contact lenses and subnormal vision devices to the public;
Opticianry Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 34, s. 9(1). Those persons who are engaged
in or who condone Unauthorized Practice place the public in harm’s way and it is
important for this College and its Members to do everything possible to protect
the public.
The College encourages the reporting of Unauthorized Practice to the
Unauthorized Practice Committee of this College. To report Unauthorized
Practice, you can download the College’s
Unauthorized
Practice Form. Please clearly fill in the form to the best of your ability
and return it by either mail or fax to the College. Or, you can contact the
College of Opticians of Ontario at (416) 368-3616 or Toll Free at (800) 990-9793
(Ontario only).
Subsequent to the College receiving a report that individuals that are not
Registered Opticians are performing the act of dispensing eyeglasses, contact
lenses or subnormal vision devices contrary to the Regulated Health Professions
Act, 1991, the report goes to the Unauthorized Practice Committee for review.
Although an Unauthorized Practice report is reviewed if submitted anonymously,
if the person making the report includes their name and a telephone number, the
report is more valuable. The report has a format that helps the College act upon
the information and if a contact person and telephone member is included, the
College may wish to speak to you directly in order to co-ordinate an
investigation with the Committee. This has proven to increase the success of
Unauthorized Practice investigations.
After review by the Unauthorized Practice Committee, the Committee may resolve
the matter by discovering that a Registered Optician is working there and will
take no further action, by sending the business a warning in writing, by
investigating the practice. Please understand that the College can not provide
information about ongoing investigation. The Committee can finally recommend to
the College whoever contravenes the Controlled Act of Dispensing to prosecute
individuals and their employers.
Even though, the College of Opticians regulates only Opticians, Student
Opticians and Intern Opticians in Ontario. The College firmly believes that to
protect the public Unauthorized Practice should be stopped and those that
perpetrate it should suffer stiff penalties. Please note that the College has
limited legal authority or jurisdiction over optical stores, dispensaries,
corporations or their non-optician owners or managers. Unfortunately, the
College does not have the authority to “shut down” optical dispensaries that
engage in Unauthorized Practice and recognizes that the fines often awarded by
the court, while in compliance with the Regulated Health Professions Act, are
low.
Nonetheless, the College of Opticians of Ontario will continue to prosecute
individuals and corporations that permit or encourage unauthorized practice in
Ontario through the Ontario Court System. Additionally, the College of Opticians
of Ontario can and does seek contempt of court orders when the court has ordered
an individual to cease dispensing illegally and the College has reason to
believe illegal dispensing is still taking place.
The College has secured the following convictions
(All fines are payable to the Government of Ontario)
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Unauthorized Practice